A Day of Terror
by TweetyPie82
Summary: I sat down and started to write this piece just after the 'Attack on America'. I posted the first part of the story the same day as the attacks on the fkfic list. FINI PLEASE R


I sat down and started to write this piece just after the 'Attack on America'. I posted the first part of the story the same day as the attacks on the fkfic list.

Please insert the usual disclaimer and permission to archive here. Everything that is in apostrophes '...' are the characters' thoughts.

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**A Day of Terror**

(Manhattan, USA-shortly after 9am; September 11, 2001)

Dr. Natalie Lambert is among her promised tour group from the International Manhattan Coroner Conference somewhere near the middle of the North Tower of the World Trade Center. When all of a sudden she hears a big bang, reminding her of the plane explosion that killed Donald Schanke and Captain Amanda Cohen, coming from above her. Using her instincts, she dives underneath the nearest desk now wishing she had taken Detective Nick Knight upon on his offer to go with her. From her supposed safety position under the desk, she watches as everyone is stamping toward the exits like buffaloes going to a water hole. Toward the end of the crowd, she emerges from her hiding place and taking in the present situation. Her train of thought is again interrupted as she watches out the south window of the offices and sees a second plane crash and explode into the middle of the South Tower. Looking at her watch, she finds that it was only 15 minutes from the first explosion and decides that was no accident. Upon her discovery, she makes her way toward the exit.

"An explosion like that to this building would bring it down with in an hour," she says out loud to no one, it takes her that long to make it to the first floor. She makes it safely to the lobby door where true terror finds her.

(Toronto, Canada-about 10am)

Detective Nick Knight is sitting on the couch watching television after waking up from a very haunting nightmare. The program he finds very interesting is interrupted with a breaking news update coming from Manhattan, New York USA. As soon as he recognizes the city the station is showing on the screen, he checks his clock. According to the agenda Nat gave him before she left to her conference, she should still be on her tour of the two burning buildings in the foreground of the screen of his television. He immediately picked up the phone and dialed the foundation to ready the special car for his immediate trip

to the USA. He was originally going to take the jet, but then heard that all flights into the USA have been diverted into Canada. He didn't want to go to Canada, he's in Canada. He wants to get into the USA. After hanging up from the foundation, he rushes into his room to pack for his unexpected trip but not before he calls in to the precinct to book off for the rest of the week. When he is finished with his packing, he just shut his suit case as he hears a car horn coming from outside of the garage. He turns off the television set as the screen shows the first tower that was hit, crumble down into the city's streets.

"Please, Nat. Be okay, I don't want to lose you," he said under his breath in the lift. Then he turns around and says a silent prayer to a god he barely believes in anymore.

(Manhattan, USA-shortly after 10am)

Natalie watches from the front doors of the lobby as body after body is plumed from the upper half of the towers to the ground with a sickening thud. She tries to will herself to move out into the streets, but fear of the death that seems to linger outside keeps her rooted to the spot she occupies. Next thing she finds is plaster debris floating into the lobby from the outside. 'Damn it! I waited too long to leave here safely.' She looks around for a safe place to crunch up in. She spies a coroner that looks pretty stable for a collapse event such as this. As the plaster breaks off from the coroner, she can now see the heavy steel beams used to hold up the building when it was built. She moves into the corner and assumes the position as a person would do in case of a tornado touch down, and says a silent prayer hoping she survives. She screams as a huge piece of concrete lands in her corner creating a stable protective pocket and allows some air flow into her space. All she can do now is wait for someone to rescue her.

(Hamilton, Canada-around 11am)

Now more than ever is Nick glad he convinced the designer to place a television set in the special car. He has it tuned onto the station that is broadcasting live shots of the crises, and watches as the second tower collapses onto the first collapsed tower ruble. 'Please, God. Let her have gotten out safely, or at least be alive in the ruins. Please!' He almost broke the glass he was holding a little too tightly. He had now came to the conclusion that this was no accident, when the channel had earlier shown two other crash sites that happened in a short time span from the two crashes of the World Trade

Center. Another plane crashed into the pentagon, and a second one crashed in Pennsylvania just outside of Camp David. He knew a terrorist act when he saw one, and this is definitely a terrorist act. 'Question is who would be stupid enough to attack the United States?' He sits there a long time deep in thought making the driver wonder if he is even alive. The only reason why the driver does not stop to check to see if he is not a statute, is the fact that his eyelids are blinking giving his eyes some moisture.

(Manhattan, USA-around 11am)

As Natalie is crouching in her air pocket, it dawns on her that she may not survive this crises. 'Nonsense, Natalie. You will survive this crises. Nick will be waiting outside with his arms open to accept you unharmed. So stop doubting your courage, Natalie Lambert.' She also knows to stay calm in a situation like this. To help keep her sanity, she remembers happy times she shared with Nick. Her thoughts are shattered as she screams in fright at the sound of the second tower collapsing on top of her and the previous tower. 'Nick, hurry up and get your immortal butt here and help me!' Granted, he had almost killed her, but she does not trust just anyone to save her from this place. Judging form her experience, she knows that real rescue efforts will not start probably until the dust and debris die down, which might not start until nightfall. 'Good, at least Nick would be able to look for me also. If he shows up.' She mentally reprimands herself for doubting Nick's love for her. 'Nothing do now but wait for help. Maybe I can get some sleep now, yeah right. Just stay calm.'

(Buffalo, USA-around 12pm)

Nick watches the news nonstop as the channel brings the updates on 'Attack on America' as the media now calls it. Listening as the death tolls are being counted and reported to the media, praying that Natalie is not counted as one of the statistics. The media has yet to report of any rescue efforts for any survivors. According to the plan the driver had show him while they were still in Toronto, he had planed to take I-90 from Buffalo to I-81 which is about 210 kilometers. Nick has no doubt that his driver knows where to go, giving him plenty of time to worry about his mortal love's safety. 'Please. Just hang on, Nat. I'm on my way. Hang on.' He removes his cell phone and calls his father.

When the familiar aristocrat voice answers the phone, Nick tells him the importance of getting to Manhattan shortly after the attacks.

(Manhattan, USA-about 3pm)

Natalie is startled out of her reverie at the sound that had just stopped three hours ago. Another building of the Center is starting to collapse. Her doubt of survival returning to her once again. 'Make a deal with me. If they don't find me in 24 hours, then you may take over start to panic. Okay?' She is talking to her subconscious. Once again she curses, 'Nick! Get your sorry immortal but here.' Not as fierce she adds, 'Please, Nick. I'm truly scared this time.'

(I-90 and I-81 highway interchange-around 3pm)

The television shows a third building crumble to the ground in the Center. Nick is starting to get agitated, because he can't help the rescue efforts until sundown. Going at their present speed, they should reach New York City in about four hours not including traffic. It might not be dark enough for him to find Natalie. He growled in frustration.

(New York City, USA-about 7pm)

Nick emerges from the car into the night air, he is so glad there was heavy traffic on the highways. It burnt deadly daylight for him. He turned to his driver, "Make sure my bag is taken care of. Place the cost of the room to the foundation. I will pay the foundation back later."

"Yes, Sir. Not to be rude or anything, but would you like to rest first, Sir?" He asks fidgety.

"No, I do not. I must find someone first and make sure she is unharmed before anything else." Nick states matter-of-factly. He moved back into an abandon alley and takes off into Manhattan, via the sky. He heard on the way over that authorities were not allowing anyone on the island, he has to get over there and find her pronto.

(Manhattan, USA-thirty minutes later)

Nick lands amongst the ruble in a rather large shadow. Listening with his vampiric hearing for Natalie's familiar heartbeat, he can barely hear it. He turns in a 360 degree circle to better hear which direction she is in. Once he determines what direction she is from his current location, he makes his way to her. As he draws nearer, her heartbeat becomes more distinguished from other heartbeats he hears in the distance of the night. 'Probably rescue workers.' As he walks, he could tell that he is now standing directly on top of her. He kneels down, not caring about his clothes. "Nat! Nat! Can you hear me," he yells into the ruins of a great landmark.

Natalie brings herself out of a very fond memory, as she hears a familiar male voice call her name from above. "Nick! Thank God you're here. Get me out of here," she yells back almost crying. 'I'm going to make it!' She listens as sounds of concrete scratch against one another come down through the debris, making her only guess what Nick was doing now.

Nick listens for a response from the object of his concern, and gets one a few seconds later. It is not loud for a mortal listening from top of the debris, but he can hear it with no problem. At the end of her reply, he could tell that she is doing everything she can to keep from crying. After he looks around for nosy mortals and finds none, he starts to move huge pieces of concrete beneath him like a person would a heavy wooden chair.

(One hour later.)

Natalie looks up to see that a hole has been made big enough for a body to fit through. After she hears what sounded like someone throwing rocks, a face appears from over the rocks. She gazes up in happiness as the person she most loves is looking down at her from the top. "Nick! Help me out!"

"Are you hurt," he asks reaching into the hole for her outreached hand. He didn't need to ask it, because he could smell the blood slightly from his position. 'It wouldn't hurt to hear her deny her injuries.'

"No, I'm fine. Just a little scratched and scared, but fine," she doesn't deny it totally, because she knows he can smell her blood from right where he is. She grabs his hand, very tightly.

"Hang on, Nat. I'm going to pull you straight up and out the hole. Okay," he explains to her.

"Okay. I'm ready when you are 'Hercules'," she replies playfully. 'He is my own modern day 'Hercules' after all.'

"All right, here we go." He clasp her hand and pull her straight up through the hole. Once he has her out of her air pocket, he hugs her tightly to his body. "I was worried about you, My Love," he whispers in her ear.

"I had doubts about you coming here, but I was scared at the time. Let's go home," she whispers back.

"We can talk about this later. Let's go back to the hotel room I booked for us, and nurse those injuries," he answers in return.

"Okay. How did you get here in the first place," she asks. When she had a chance to look around she could not find a mode of transportation as far as she could see.

"Hang on tight, Love," he answers her in return. Pulling her body to his, he takes off the hotel the had booked a room in just an hour and a half ago.

Fini


End file.
